Digital signals in the Bayer format, such as those provided by an image sensor in a camera for example, have the format shown in FIG. 1. Basically, a matrix format is being dealt with in which each row is alternately coded with two colors: odd rows are alternately coded with the red and green colors, while even rows are alternately coded with the green and blue colors. In the layout shown in FIG. 1, the respective letters R, G and B stand for red, green and blue.
When an image sensor, such as the one schematically indicated as reference 1 in FIG. 2, is to be connected to a processor 2 for processing the pixel data to reconstruct the image, a problem arises due to the fact that data items in the Bayer format are highly uncorrelated with each other. During transmission on the bus B to the processor 2 (FIG. 2), the data in question gives rise to a high switching activity.
The problem can be addressed, at least in principle, by applying data encoding techniques on the bus B for reducing switching activity. For example, on small-size buses, such as those up to 8 bits, the technique known as bus inverter (BI) is a good encoding technique for the majority of cases. The results deriving from the application of this technique can vary, and in quite a significant manner, depending on the type of data being transmitted.